


Fitzroy Accidentally Discovers The Trolley Problem!

by Ember360



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, He doesn't actually die I prommy, It goes Fluff then Angst then Hurt/Comfort then Angst we hitting all the bases, M/M, Night Terrors, Not Really Character Death, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:22:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26743564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ember360/pseuds/Ember360
Summary: Fitzroy has a nightmare. Argo tries to help. Communication really isn't their strong suit, huh?
Relationships: Argo Keene/Sir Fitzroy Maplecourt, Chaos & Sir Fitzroy Maplecourt
Comments: 10
Kudos: 36





	Fitzroy Accidentally Discovers The Trolley Problem!

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to himbo-dad (HELLO MAGNUS ILY HAPPY BIRTHDAY <33!!!!) on Tumblr for sending the prompt "Quit touching me, your feet are cold!" with Maplekeene! POV my friends hand me fun, light-hearted prompts and I take it and hurt everyone with it :')) 
> 
> This is set somewhere in between episode 26 and 27. 
> 
> CWs:  
> -Nightmares  
> -Violence  
> -Gore(?)/Blood  
> -Chaos Is Fucked Up And Evil So Like Body Horror I Guess  
> -Character Death But Also Not Really  
> -(Spoilers) not going to lie to you guys Argo straight up fucking dies in this but it's okay it's just a nightmare, if you don't wanna read that part then just skip to the third section :P

Fitzroy tossed his bag of things into the corner and collapsed onto the bed dramatically. "Well today was shit. Goodnight!" 

Argo chuckled at his shenanigans. "Aw, c'mon, wasn't that bad! At, uh, at least we got some work done here in Last Hope, got a few folks on board before our time limit runs out. That leaves room for searching for more supplies tomorrow!" 

"Mm, yes, how very kind of Grey to allow me to go into town for _two whole days!_ Wow! I'm astounded! Thank you so much, Mr. Demon Prince! Extremely helpful!"

"I- Fair, fair. But at least come and get ready for bed, hm? We still need to uh- figure out our sleeping arrangements here too," the genasi said as he ducked into the small bathroom of their room.

"You're sure that Barb doesn't have a bigger room?" Fitzroy complained. 

"Yeah, she said this one was the only one available besides the one Firby's taking up. And I _know_ you're going to complain about him having his own too but you need to remember he's a big guy and he needs his space. 'Sides, this shouldn't be _too_ bad! It'll be like a sleepover!" 

Fitzroy made a disgruntled noise but he started getting ready for bed anyway, as well as preparing his things for the morning so he wouldn't waste any time. 

"To be perfectly honest, Fitz, I kinda miss-" Argo walked back into the room right as Fitzroy took his shirt off to change into his pajamas. "Um- miss, uh... miss sharin' a- a room because of- because of the villain thing, y'know."

The half-elf didn't seem to take notice of his friend's flustered state as he pulled his night shirt over his head. "Hm. Well, truthfully, pal, I don't think this'll be a very thrilling sleepover anyway because I for one am exhausted and I just want to hit the hay." 

"Yeah, me too. Um- Hm. So... Are we going to be sharing this thing or...?" Argo pointed to the bed and gave Fitzroy a questioning look. 

"I- Yeah? I'm- I'm not going to make you sleep on the floor, Argo. I'm a _knight_ , I know how to _share_ things. I went to kindergarten, I took the class on sharing and caring. And I passed with flying colors, mind you."

Argo snorted. "Aye, I wouldn't have guessed."

"Shut up!" Fitzroy protested, whacking his companion with a pillow. Argo giggled and the half-elf stopped for a moment. 

There was something about Argonaut Keene's smile that made Fitzroy feel... Feel something. And he wasn't sure what it was but whatever it was, it was strong. And nice. A warm, fluttery sort of feeling that threatened to overwhelm him. It made him want to shout it out loud, but he wasn't sure what _it_ was. And he wasn't quite sure what that said about him or Argo. All that he knew was that it was a good feeling and he liked it and he wanted more of whatever it was.

"Aw, c'mon, I'm just messin' with ya!" Argo said. Fitzroy rolled his eyes fondly and stood back up to go brush his teeth and give Argo privacy to change. 

By the time he had finished, Argo was already curled up in the bed with a _Larry the Lime_ picture book. Fitzroy crawled in next to him, and Argo scooted over a bit to give him room.

"Can you turn off the light?" the half-elf whispered. 

"Oh- right-" Argo flicked off the lamp at the bedside and returned back to his book. It took him a moment to process that he couldn't read in the dark and Fitzroy chuckled a bit at him. After gently bumping Fitzroy on the head with it, Argo retired the children's book to his nightstand and rolled over on his side, facing his companion. 

They stared at each other for a moment. Or maybe it was longer than just a moment. Time seemed to blur and become irrelevant as Fitzroy stared into Argo's hazel eyes. They were so close to one another... Fitzroy wondered if genasi could see in the dark. He himself could count each and every freckle-like scale on Argo's face if he really wanted to. He could see each strand of long dark hair, hair that he could reach out and softly brush out of Argo's face if he wanted to. If... If he wanted to, he could just lean in close to Argo right now and just...

"Well! Goodnight!" Fitzroy suddenly exclaimed, flipping over on his other side and taking the blankets with him. 

"Hey!" Argo laughed and tugged his fair share of the sheets back. "Save some for the rest of us." 

The barbarian huffed and buried his face into his pillow. 

...

"Quit touching me!" Fitzroy complained, kicking Argo's leg away from him. "Your feet are cold!"

"It's not my fault! Yer taking up three-fourths of the bed!"

"I'm _bigger_ than you! I need it!" 

"You sure you passed that sharing class?"

"I hate you."

"Really?"

"No." _Quite the opposite._ "Of course not, dumb- dumb... ass."

Argo chuckled. "Good to know." He sounded tired. They should really both be getting some sleep... Tomorrow would be a long day. Most of their days were...

"Goodnight, Argo."

"'Night, Fitz."

There was something Fitzroy had to say, something he wanted to say, but it was forgotten as he slipped into a trance.

\---

He was on a battlefield. He had failed to stop the war (of course he had) and now he was in the midst of it and it's bloodshed.

A pale-skinned and red-eyed imp leapt at Fitzroy's face, and the barbarian slammed his maul into it's body as if it was a baseball bat. With a sickening crack and a thud, the lesser demon hit the ground, staining the spikes of Fitzroy's weapon with ichor.

Fitzroy scanned the field for his allies and enemies alike. Argo was battling with what appeared to be a pack of quasits while Buckminster and Leon tag-teamed a Chain Demon in perfect sync. Further away, Fitzroy could see Moon in were-bear form fighting a hellhound with Rainer by his side.

Meanwhile, a very enraged Erinyes was heading straight towards him.

Suddenly, the world seemed to stand still and it's colors faded. A figure appeared by Fitzroy, clad in a feathered top hat, a tie and fashionable dress. They held a pair of opera glasses in one long fingered hand, and when they took it away from their face they revealed eight wide and eager white eyes. 

"Hello Fitzroy!" Chaos grinned, each eye blinking one by one.

"Do you mind? I'm kind of in the middle of something here and you just dropping in unannounced isn't exactly helpful," Fitzroy pouted, gesturing to the battle before him. 

The deity sighed. "Yes, yes, I know, awfully drab entrance for me. But! You will find my presence to be rather helpful indeed! You see, I'm here to help you use your powers so that all of this _something_ goes down smoothly and you win! Doesn't that sound fun?!"

"I don't need you," Fitzroy spat. "I'm perfectly capable of doing this on my own."

Chaos' smile fell. "You're refusing me?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I _am_ refusing you."

"You're not going to like the outcome that doing that creates, Fitzroy~" the deity sang.

The half-elf scoffed "And what're _you_ going to do about it?"

"Oh. _Oh._ " Shrill laughter echoed in Fitzroy's ears as Chaos cackled, their voice haunting the battlefield. _"Absolutely nothing!_ " Their laughter was replaced by the pounding of blood in Fitzroy's head as he braced himself for the Erinyes' attack.

The demon slammed into him, the metal of her longsword scraping against Fitzroy's maul. He pushed her away and then swung his weapon, but she gracefully dodged his attack by leaping to the side and charging once more. The Erinyes struck Fitzroy's arm as he shielded his head from the blow.

The barbarian grimaced and pain, and when he opened his eyes back up his surroundings were tinted blood red. A deep fury built in his stomach and he screamed in anger. Rage had set upon him. 

Fitzroy swung his maul into the Erinyes' side with alarming speed. She screeched and back-flipped into the air, aiming to come down on her opponent. But Fitzroy rose the stick part of his maul just in time, making her bounce of that instead. She crash-landed in the dirt and stumbled to her feet, but by that time Fitzroy had already prepared another blow. He slammed his weapon into the enemy again, and she crumpled back into the earth. Finally, for good measure, Fitzroy brought the maul down on her head, splattering himself and ground around them in ichor. 

"See that Chaos?!" He yelled to the heavens in false triumph. "How's _that_ for an outcome?! I'm perfectly capable of-"

A scream of agony pierced through the battle.

" _Oh_ ," Fitzroy whispered as he dropped out of his rage. He turned around just in time to see Argo Keene collapse onto the ground. " _Shit._ "

The knight sprinted across the field in a matter of seconds. On his way, he disintegrated the remaining quasits that Argo had been fighting with one mighty bolt of lightning.

Fitzroy skidded to a halt and knelt down by Argo, who was curled in on himself, covering his wounds. 

"Okay, okay, you alright? Um- that was- you're obviously _not_ uh-" Fitzroy looked around, trying to spot anyone near that might have healing powers. "I- Okay, so I don't really know much about this stuff but uh- where- can I...?"

Argo whimpered and moved one arm away from his chest. Fitzroy couldn't help but gasp as he saw the stab wounds littered across his chest, no doubt piercing through his lung. If there was anything that Fitzroy had learned at his time at Wiggenstaff's, it was were a fatal wound was...

Argo coughed, spitting up blood, and Fitzroy grabbed him, trying to support him in his arms.

The genasi choked and shuddered and Fitzroy watched in terror. Dark blue blood covered the two of them, sticky and hot with a metallic scent that flooded and overwhelmed his nostrils- _Argo's_ blood. There was so much of it. It stained Fitzroy's clothes, it was _everywhere_ , there was so _much, oh God_... 

"Argo- Argo listen to me, we need to get you to Althea right now okay. I'm going to take you there," Fitzroy said, moving to pick his friend up bridal style. 

Argo hissed and Fitzroy laid him back down in their original position, his mind flailing around, desperately trying to figure out what to do. "F- Fitz..." Argo choked on air again, his lungs seizing up and his words dying in a sputter.

"Hi buddy," Fitzroy replied, trying to sound as calm and soothing as possible. "We're- C'mon, we have to- we're going to head back to Althea's tent now so she can... can..." Fitzroy trailed off as Argo put one bloody hand on his cheek. He leaned into his touch, putting his hand over Argo's. His eyes started to fill with tears, matching Argo's own.

"Fitz, I-" Argo drew in a sharp breath and panic shot through the barbarian. 

"Argo, Argo- wait, hold on, you- you can't-"

Argo shook his head. "No, Fitz- please- _Fitz_ , I-" he sputtered helplessly. Fitzroy stared into his friend's eyes. He was terrified. He was in so much agony. He didn't want to die. He didn't want to go. And yet... For a split second, Argo's eyes focused on something behind him. And for a single second, he was relieved, basking in some sort of familiar warmth . But, just as quickly as it left, the terror returned to him. And then...

Argo's eyes unfocused and his body went rigid as the sound of one final gasp of pain echoed in Fitzroy's ears. He slumped over, bloody and battered and lifeless.

Fitzroy stared down in utter shock. "A- Argo? Argo? Wait- I- Hold on- I don't - Argo. Argo!" He shook his friend's body, trying to reach him. He couldn't reach him. He wasn't waking up. "No, no, no." _This can't be it, this isn't fair. This can't be real, this can't actually be- This was actually happening. Oh. Oh, gods. Argo- Argo's_ dead.

As Fitzroy stared into the glassy eyes of his sidekick in horror, long, sharp claws began to dig into his shoulder. The knight froze, heart beating out of his chest and mind racing. He could feel a presence at his side, as someone leaned down by his face. He refused to look, petrified by fear. 

**"I told you so, Fitzroy,"** Chaos condemned, their voice a horrible amalgamation of a hiss and a roar. **"Time and time I have presented you with reward for obeying me. So now I resort to... Well..."** Chaos grabbed Fitzroy's face as their other claw dug deeper into his shoulder. Their face was mostly a gapping, unhinged jaw filled with knife-like teeth and a forked tongue. Their eyes were hollow and yet filled with malice and hunger and hatred. Fitzroy wanted to pull away from them, but he was frozen to the spot. 

_**"Consequences."** _

With a flick of the deity's wrist, a bone snapped somewhere and Fitzroy was plunged into darkness.

\---

Fitzroy's eyes flew back open and he gasped for breath, clutching his throat. His heart was still pounding, and his head throbbed. He put his face in his hands, trying to slow his own breathing down. Everything had felt so real; the fight, the terror, the blood on his hands...

Fitzroy swung his head to look at Argo, suddenly very afraid that it hadn't been a dream at all, that somehow Argo really _was_ gone. 

The genasi was still asleep, but he his sleep seemed to be restless, as he kept shifting position and whimpering. Fitzroy assumed he was having some sort of bad dream. Should he wake him up? No, no, he needed his rest...

"Didn't mean to," Argo helplessly murmured, twitching again. Fitzroy frowned. Alright, he should probably do something about this.

The knight touched his sidekick's shoulder softly, trying not to startle him. "Argo," he whispered, rubbing his arm lightly. "Argo, wake up." The genasi whimpered, his face contorted in distress. Fitzroy whispered a bit louder, "Argo. Argo! Wake up!" 

"What?" Argo murmured, his eyes beginning to flutter open. "Wh- Where? What- What's goin' on?" 

"I think you were having a nightmare?" Fitzroy said. "Um- It looked rough so I woke you up. Sorry." 

Argo stared at Fitzroy for a moment, before taking a deep breath. "No, no it's alright. Uh- thanks. What- What're you doin' up?" 

"Nothing," Fitzroy said quickly, turning away. 

"Oh... Okay. That's alright." Argo said, and Fitzroy looked back at him. The image of his friend's dead body was burned into his mind, and each time he looked at Argo that was all he could see. It was absolutely awful, the thought of that happening made him feel sick and angry and- and scared. Because what if he couldn't actually prevent the war and he really was forced to choose between giving into Chaos or letting his friends perish? Which was worth more to him; His own mind, his humanity, his control over himself and his powers or Argo. 

_Argo,_ his mind immediately responded. 

An awkward silence fell over the room as Fitzroy stared down at the bedsheets. Argo was looking in the other direction, but Fitzroy could see him out the corner of his eye. He looked upset. Fitzroy wondered whether that was because of his nightmare or because he refused to tell him why he was up. Maybe he should just tell him... But then what? Would Argo ask questions as to why he specifically had been the one Chaos had decided to use as leverage against Fitzroy? Not even the half-elf himself knew that answer to that.

That was a lie. 

Some where deep down, Fitzroy knew very well why Chaos had targeted Argo- what made him care about Argo so much in the first place. But he refused to think about it, or even consider it. Because it was new and strange and it made him feel like he had no control over his own feelings. Besides, if he just kept convincing himself that he wasn't feeling it then it would eventually go away, right? 

...and if it didn't? If he kept feeling this, if he couldn't get it to go away... If Fitzroy really _was_ in love with Argo, what could he even _do_ about it? They were in the middle of a war, they barely had time to rest let alone figure out all their relationship issues. A confession could mess up the team dynamic, and they needed each other now more than ever. It didn't seem very likely that Argo liked him back; He was friendly, sure, but that was just Argo being himself. 

But that was just _if_ he was in love with Argo, which he wasn't. Not at all. Maybe- maybe one could argue possibly a crush of some sort- but just something small! Something insignificant. 

Something manageable. 

Fitzroy sighed. "It was a nightmare. I had a nightmare too." 

Argo looked at him in surprise. He hadn't expected him to say anything at all. "Oh," he paused and then scooted a bit closer to Fitzroy, leaning forward so he could look him in the eye as the half-elf stared at the wall. "Did ya' wanna talk about it?" 

"No."

"Okay, that's- that's cool. I'm- Me neither..." Argo leaned back, hugging his knees. Fitzroy refused to look at him. 

Another moment of silence.

Argo chuckled to himself. "You know, me mum used to tell me stories whenever I had nightmares. They always had a little lesson to them; 'Your friends will always be there for you' or 'face your fears', that sorta stuff, y'know. I'd always hijack 'em, sayin' what I wanted to happen instead, makin' her change bits of the stories or the characters or the setting to something I was more interested in. She never minded though. 'Course, none of my suggestions ever made much sense, but she always let me do what I wanted with it as long as the message still got across. By the time we were done, I was always so tired that I fell asleep no problem." Argo smiled to himself, and Fitzroy looked at him, illuminated by the moonlight from the window to his side. 

"So I guess- I guess that's why I think about her whenever I have nightmares. I get to make up my own little story now, do whatever I want with it. 'Reminds me of her." His reminiscent smile began to fade. "Most things do..." 

Fitzroy stared at him for a moment, contemplating something. "Argo... If... If, let's say, that you were- hypothetically!- given the choice between the lives of a bunch of people- like, a lot of people, but mostly ones you don't know and... And someone who you were- who you cared about... Which would you choose?"

"Gee, Fitz," Argo laughed nervously. "That's a pretty heavy question."

"Sorry- I- Forget-"

"No, no, it's alright! Um... Hm." Argo tilted his head as he thought. "I mean, it'd have to be save the many people, right? I mean it's a terrible choice, but in the end, a lot of people dead is worse than one person dead. Picking the one person just because you know them would be kind of selfish? I dunno. It's tough." 

"Yeah... But- But what if that person was, like, a really good person? Like you _knew_ that the world was better with them in it. What then?"

"I mean one person's capacity for doing good isn't going to be more than say a hundred people's capacity for doing good." 

Fitzroy sighed in frustration. For some reason, the answer Argo was giving him was one he just couldn't agree with, no matter how right he probably was. "But- What if you can't imagine a world without them?"

"I- I don't know-"

"What if you love them?"

"I don't _know_ , okay?!" Argo cried, throwing his hands up in the air. "I don't know! I'm sorry but I just don't! I- I know you're just trying to get some advice and- and I'm sorry I can't help you."

"No, no, you're right, that- It was unfair of me to spring that question on you without any warning, Argo, and for that I am sorry. I'm - I guess I'm just stressed out from always being the one to make all the decisions, you know? But it's not fair for me to just turn that responsibility right on to you."

"Nah, you have a point!" Argo said, to Fitzroy's surprise. "It _is_ unfair for the weight of the leader to always be on your shoulders. I think as a team we should try and work on that! It shouldn't be up to you to make all the decisions. We're in this together, all three of us." 

"Okay.. um. Thank you." 

"No problem! That's what friends are for!" Argo grinned. Fitzroy got that weird fluttery feeling in his stomach again. 

"Yeah," the half-elf smiled. "I guess it is." 

Argo smiled back, then looked to the side. "Fitz... If you don't mind me asking, what made you bring that question up in the first place?"

Fitzroy sighed. "I- I dunno. Just... If- if we can't stop this thing, this war, then people are going to get hurt, Argo. Probably a lot of people, in fact. And- and I- I'm just trying to figure out what I should do about that, how to be prepared for that. Because... I think that maybe in order to stop that from happening, I would need to do something that's going to lead to some pretty awful things? And I don't want that to happen, but if it means that y- everyone at the school, our friends, our teachers, our allies- are safe, then... then what choice do I have? And I know, I know, it's selfish of me to think that, like you said, but-" _I can't lose you_ "-I dunno. I dunno..."

"You mean Chaos? Are you thinkin' about takin' their offer?"

"No! I'm- I wouldn't _actually_ \- I'm just- I'm weighing my options, you know. Trying to figure out what I would do, worst case scenario." 

Argo turned Fitzroy's head towards him, cupping his face in his hands. " _Stop_ sayin' it like that. It's not 'I have to figure this out'. You're not doing this alone, Fitz, you've got me and the Firbolg and Rainer and Higglemas and Althea and the Chain and all these people with you. We're a team, and when tough decisions come our way, we can make them _together_. We're here for you, Fitz, _I'm_ here for you, so stop trying to do it all alone. Please."

"But what if you're _not_? What if it's a split second thing, something I have to decide on right away, by myself? What then?" 

"Then I trust that you'll make the right one, Fitz. Because you're a good person, and I believe in you, okay? You're a good person." Argo wiped a few tears off of Fitzroy's face with his thumb. "I'll be here for you, no matter what you decide. I promise. I promise." 

"I don't think I'm strong enough to lose anyone," Fitzroy whispered, leaning into Argo's touch. 

"I know, I know. It's- It's going to feel like that for a long time, probably. But listen to me. Even if- keyword if!- If someone does get hurt during all of this... You'll keep going. There are so many people who have loved, and love and will love you, Fitzroy. Trust me, please. I- As someone who has lived his whole life feeling like I could never really be cared about again, I can promise that that's wrong. When I found the school, when I found _you_ \- and- and Firby too and everyone- I realized that I was wrong, that I _am_ capable of being loved again. Fitz, no matter what happens, there will always be someone out there who loves you. You might not find them right away, but they're out there. And they're right here now, too. And- and maybe they won't always be but that's okay because there will always be _someone_. I promise."

Fitzroy moved away from Argo, tears stinging his eyes. He couldn't do this. He couldn't sit here with Argo, contemplating his death, and talking about _moving on_ from it. Argo didn't _understand_. 

No-one did. 

Anger grew in Fitzroy's stomach. "Okay," he said, turning back towards the wall as much as he wanted to go back to Argo, to be held by his gentle hands again. "I'm- I think I'm going to try going back to sleep now."

It took a while for Argo to respond. Fitzroy could feel him staring at him from behind. "Alright. Sweet dreams."

"You too."

"Thanks..."

\---

"Thanks..." Argo whispered, looking down at Fitzroy, wondering why the half-elf had closed himself off again so suddenly, wondering what he had done wrong. Was it something he had said? It must've been...

_He doesn't care about you. You annoy him. You only make things worse._

Argo sighed and stared out the window. He didn't want to fall back asleep, lest the nightmares of Hell returned to him. So he kept himself awake with his thoughts, going back over his conversation with Fitzroy in his head, trying to pin-point every little mistake that he might have made. And as he did, a deep, abiding sadness rose in his mind, clouding his thoughts until nothing but hatred and anger was left, unresolved and festering.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Halloween and Graduation Anniversary :D!!! Sorry about this!!! 
> 
> Thank you very much for the prompt Magnus, I hope you have a good birthday despite this. 
> 
> You can send me a prompt [here!](https://keenie.tumblr.com/post/628296569835405312/prompt-list)


End file.
